Kristall, Spartak, ELMONT and Lokomotiv into the semis of the Russian Cup as eight become four
The FONBET Cup is reaching its conclusion as the quarter-finals dash hopes of cup glory for four more teams, and defending champions Kristall remain on course for title retention.
A place in the semi-finals was snatched away from Lukoil, Delta, City and Rosich as Kristall, Spartak, ELMONT and Lokomotiv take normal time victories to secure passage to the next round.
KRISTALL 4-0 LUKOIL
An undefeated streak continues for Kristall as the defending champs calmly stroll past their quarter-final rivals, Lukoil, with four goals. Shishin got his side off the mark, then goals from Papotny, Zharikov and Brazilian international, Mauricinho, wrapped up the points. They will face Spartak Moscow in the semi-finals on Saturday
DELTA 2-3 SPARTAK
It ended up being quite a tight quarter-final fixture between Kaliningrad-based Delta and Spartak Moscow. Spartak took a three-goal lead in the first period and Delta had work on their hands to get back in the game. They pulled one back through Brazilian Bokinha before the first whistle, then scored another. However, time eventually ran out, and Spartak sealed a tie against Kristall in the semis.
ELMONT 3-1 CITY
The game between ELMONT and City started as a close contest, as the first period finished one apiece thanks to goals from Vostrikov and Stpliani. But then ELMONT were able to maintain their goal scoring rhythm, netting twice more in each remaining period to take their total to three. Taking the three points, they are set to play Lokomotiv in the semi-finals – can they go all the way?
LOKOMOTIV 6-1 ROSICH
In the day’s last quarter-final fixture, the prize for victory today was a chance to play ELMONT in the semis. But after taking an early three-goal lead, Lokomotiv proved too much for their Moscow rivals. They extended their lead to four when Mamadiyev found the net, until Perkov pulled one back for Rosich, only to see Nikonorov complete a hat-trick to make it six.
The semi-final fixtures (to be played on Saturday 22nd September) are as follows:
15:00* – KRISTALL v SPARTAK
16:30* – ELMONT v LOKOMOTIV
For full details of the FONBET Cup, including results, fixtures, standings and live streams of the games, please visit http://bsrussia.com/
*Local time (Sochi, Russia)
